UK And Japan Sign Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

23 Dec (NucNet): The UK and Japan have signed an agreement that significantly expands cooperation in the nuclear energy sector and paves the way for Japanese companies to build nuclear plants in the UK, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said in a statement. The agreement also covers cooperation in the areas of decommissioning and decontamination and it is anticipated that the deal will give UK companies with advanced technologies greater access to projects at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear station, where three of the six reactors suffered meltdowns after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The agreement was signed in Tokyo on 22 December 2016 by Hiroshige Seko, the Japanese trade and industry minister, and Greg Clark, the UK business and energy secretary. The agreement is the first of its kind for Japan, while Mr Clark described it as “vital” to the UK's industrial strategy and the development of clean energy sources. One of the key components of the agreement is the proposals to build new reactors in the UK. Two Japan-led consortia, Horizon and NuGen, are developing plans to build new nuclear projects in the UK. Horizon, bought by Hitachi from a German company in 2012, has delivered the outline of a project at Wylfa Newydd in Wales, and has plans to build as many as six reactors in the UK. Toshiba joint venture NuGen is planning the Moorside nuclear station in Cumbria, northwest England, and is considering additional projects. The first of the three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at Moorside is targeted to come online in the mid-2020s.